Whose blog is this?

Mine, of course!

I am Janet and I am the mother of 4 boys. At this point in the conversation, most people say ‘God bless you’ ~ and I tell them that He has 🙂 My boys are rough & tumble, loud and busy and a force to be reckoned with. Maybe the next time someone asks me ‘What do you do?’ – you know, for a living, I might just respond that I ‘reckon with boys’. That will work.

I have a lot of responsibilities and several hobbies. I think I am going to make a great old lady, as I have baking and crocheting firmly in my repertoire. I love to write and don’t do it nearly enough. I hate winter and LOVE summer, I like cleaning, but don’t really enjoy cooking. I love country music, family day trips and the beach. There you have it. Simple.

Who is the ‘Happy Man’ that I live with?

Well, it’s not my husband. He might indeed, be a happy man, but you’d have to have that conversation with him yourself.

‘Happy Man’ is my oldest son, Ethan, who happens to have Down syndrome and is also on the Autistic Spectrum. Of all the ways I would describe Ethan, one of them is NOT ‘happy man’ – he is negative, oppositional, sometimes rude and very demanding. He can also be very funny, creative, fascinating, quick-witted and pretty adorable. Life with him is never easy, but never boring either.

For many years, when Ethan has gotten his way or been given some that he wanted, his response was ‘Woo hoo – happy boy!’ but lately, at the prompting of a teacher of his he has changed ‘boy’ to ‘man’. Happy Man.

Why blog about Ethan?

I have scoured the internet and found very few personal blogs by parents who are sharing their lives with adult children with significant disabilities. It is a unique position that few people will find themselves in. Writing about the experiences I am facing in the near future will allow me to share information and experiences and personal parts of our journey. I also hope it will encourage parents who are also on the same road to share with me.

For me, writing about life’s processes makes the burdens lighter and I hope that it does it does the same for anyone reading. It is said (by Anais Nin) that ‘We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect.’

Here’s to the second tasting of life with Ethan.